There is provided a floor covering suitable for use at an entry to a building.
It is known to have scraper mats at the entrances of building which enable a person to remove mud or dirt a from the underside of footwear prior to entry into the building. Such scraper mats may comprise bristles or may be rubber or PVC-based mats.
One known form of mat comprises multiple sets of pins, each set of pins being encircled by a surrounding and wherein the upwardly presented pin ends extend above the height of the surrounding and perform a scraping function. However it has been found that the pins are likely to break or become bent so that after extended use the scraping function of the mat is significantly decreased.
The present invention concerns a novel form of scraper mat, which may optionally incorporate areas for inclusion of carpeting.
The scraper mat of the present invention comprises multiple sets of pins, each set of pins being located within a surrounding, characterised in that the pins do not extend significantly beyond the highest point of the surrounding. Usually, the upper (free) ends of all of the pins within a surrounding will be level with or below the highest part of the surrounding. Advantageously, the upper (free) ends of the pins will be below the highest point of the surrounding.
Generally the mats of the present invention will be formed from materials such as rubber, plastics or thermoplastics. PVC or PVC-based materials are currently preferred, but alternative materials may be more environmentally acceptable.
The relative height of the pins and the surrounding is such that the upper ends of the pins do not protrude above the surrounding to any significant degree whilst still being of a sufficient height to aid removal of mud and dirt from the underneath of footwear. This has the advantage that the surrounding provides a degree of protection to the pins and reduces the vulnerability of the pins to breakage. The pins may be of a length chosen so that the upper (free) ends terminate at a substantially similar height to the surrounding or the upper (free) ends of the pins may terminate below the surrounding such that when a person steps onto the mat the weight of the person presses down on the surrounding and reduces the height of the surrounding by compressing or distorting it. Thus the ends of the pins are brought into contact with the lower surface of the person""s footwear. Optionally the upper surface of the surrounding may be ridged or castellated.
The pins may extend from a shelf located in the base of the surrounding or otherwise in the lower portion of the mat. The presence of the shelf enables the length of the pins to be reduced whilst still ensuring that the upper ends of the pins terminate as described above. Reducing the length of the pins increases pin strength and lowers the incidence of pin breakage.
The pins may be of any cross-sectional shape, but for ease of manufacture will normally have a generally circular cross-section. Advantageously the pins will be tapered towards or rounded at their upper (free) ends. Tapering the free ends of the pins will contribute to their overall strength.
The set of pins may include any suitable number of pins, for example may comprise 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 pins although other numbers of pins are also possible and the present invention is not limited to any particular number of pins in a set.
The surrounding located about the set of pins may be of any shape. In the embodiments illustrated the surroundings are generally circular, but other shapes (for example oval, triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, septagonal, octagonal or other polygonal shapes) of surrounding are also possible. Additionally there may be a mixture of suitable shapes.
Optionally, the mat is provided with areas adapted for the receipt of strips of textile materials, eg carpeting. The inclusion of the textile material combines a scraping function together with the visual appearance of a carpet. The strips of textile material will be separated by sets of pins as described above. Advantageously, the upper surface of the textile material will be level with the upper surface of the pin surroundings so that the upper surface of the whole mat is generally flat.
Additionally since these areas are intended to be covered by textile material it is possible to include therein holes for screwing the mat into position or any other means of holding the mat in place which would normally be visible from above. Suitable textile materials are as described in WO-A-96/37645.
The textile material may be simply glued into place. Where the textile material is to be glued to the mat, the areas adapted for receipt of the strips of textile material may optionally have a non-smooth upper surface to provide a good surface to hold the glue.
Alternatively, if the textile material has a suitably hard backing, it may simply be snapped into the area of the mat. Optionally the area of the mat may be adapted to receive and hold a hard-backed section of textile material. For example the area may be provided with a lip which will lie over the top surface of the inserted hard-backed textile material, thereby retaining it in the mat.
Optionally, the mats of the present invention may be adapted to be releasably attached to similar mats. Thus, mats With textile portions may be attached to other forms of mats (for example mats without textile portions) in discrete units to form a combination of mats suitable for any particular location or purpose. This arrangement has the advantage of being extremely versatile. A tile mat edging system, for example as described in UK Registered Design No. 2062315, may be present if desired.
In a further embodiment the present invention provides a set of floor coverings comprising a first floor covering, a second floor covering and a third floor covering; wherein the first floor covering is a mat according to the invention, the second floor covering is a mat according to the invention and having strips of textile material incorporated therein and the third floor covering is a textile floor covering (eg a carpet). Desirably the textile portion(s) of the second floor covering are identical to or co-ordinate with the third floor covering. Generally the set of floor coverings is so placed that a person entering a building will first walk over the first floor covering, then the second floor covering and finally the third floor covering which will usually be chosen to co-ordinate with, or to match, the carpet of the room entered.
In more detail, the mat of the present invention may comprise a lower layer being formed from a repeating array of shapes, an upper layer being formed from a repeating array of shapes; wherein the arrays of the lower and upper layers overlap and are not super-imposed; and wherein the pins protrude from the upper surface of the lower layer and are located within a surrounding formed by the array of shapes of the upper layer. In a preferred embodiment the upper and lower layers both comprise arrays of circles; however other shapes are also contemplated. Additionally, it is not necessary for both layers to have the same shape(s) within their array.
Optionally, linking members may be present to span the spaces between the shapes forming the arrays of both the upper and lower layers. The linking members prevent high heeled footwear becoming wedged in the spaces and also perform a strengthening role. Advantageously, the linking members may be arranged perpendicularly to at least some of the neighbouring linking members.